Offensive speech and trademarks at the Supreme Court

We the People

National Constitution Center

History, News Commentary, News

4.6 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 19 January 2017

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Deborah Gerhardt of the University of North Carolina, Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute, and Rebecca Tushnet of Georgetown University discuss Lee v. Tam, a big First Amendment case. Get the latest constitutional news, and continue the conversation, on Facebook and Twitter. We want to know what you think of the podcast. Email us at [email protected]. Please subscribe to We the People and our companion podcast, Live at America’s Town Hall, on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. We the People is a member of Slate’s Panoply network. Check out the full roster at Panoply.fm. Despite our congressional charter, the National Constitution Center is a private nonprofit; we receive little government support, and we rely on the generosity of people around the country who are inspired by our nonpartisan mission of constitutional debate and education. Please consider becoming a member to support our work, including this podcast. Visit constitutioncenter.org to learn more. This show was engineered by Kevin Kilbourne and produced by Nicandro Iannacci. Research was provided by Lana Ulrich. The host of We the People is Jeffrey Rosen.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, and welcome to
0:08.9	We The People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.
0:12.6	The National Constitution Center is the only institution in America chartered by Congress
0:17.5	to disseminate information about the U.S. Constitution on a nonpartisan basis.
0:23.0	And this week we explore one of the most fascinating Supreme Court cases of this term, Lee versus Tam.
0:30.0	In 2006, Simon Tam formed a rock band he called the slants in order to bring attention to discrimination against Asian Americans.
0:38.0	But in 2011, when he applied for a trademark, a word name or symbol used to identify a good and indicated
0:44.6	source, he was denied.
0:46.9	The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said the ban name violates the Lanham Act, which bars
0:52.4	the government from approving trademarks
0:54.1	that contain quote matters which may disparage persons living or dead institutions
1:00.2	beliefs or national symbols or bring them into contempt or disrepute?
1:06.0	Is this law a violation of the free speech clause of the First Amendment?
1:09.4	Joining me to discuss the issue and the best arguments on all sides of this case are America's
1:13.6	leading experts in constitutional law and intellectual property.
1:17.1	Deborah Gerhart is Associate Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina
1:21.4	school of law, she teaches copyright and trademark law, and at the University of North Carolina School of Law.
1:22.6	She teaches copyright and trademark law.
1:24.8	And she is the Constitution Center's trademark and copyright
1:28.3	guru.
1:29.1	And she is here to join us as a neutral explainer
1:31.6	to help us understand where this case fits in context.
	...

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